President Obama Wants Our Next Move To Be To Mars

President Obama is on his way out, but he has one final request: he wants to send Americans to Mars by 2030. In a new op-ed, Obama penned for CNN the President outlined his plan to make that request a reality. In the piece, President Obama detailed his efforts to partner with private companies to send citizens to outer space.

“The space race we won not only contributed immeasurably important technological and medical advances, but it also inspired a new generation of scientists and engineers with the right stuff to keep America on the cutting edge,” Obama wrote about the importance of space exploration, before outlining the next steps. “We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time,” he added.

But to accomplish this ambitious goal of his, he says it will “require continued cooperation between government and private innovators.” And while that may be just a dream, he has hopes that it will happen. “Someday, I hope to hoist my own grandchildren onto my shoulders. We’ll still look to the stars in wonder, as humans have since the beginning of time,” he wrote. “But instead of eagerly awaiting the return of our intrepid explorers, we’ll know that because of the choices we make now, they’ve gone to space not just to visit, but to stay — and in doing so, to make our lives better here on Earth.”

Obama isn’t the only one working on a master plan though. In September 2016, a billionaire businessman by the name of Elon Musk, announced that he too had plans to send people to Mars, using a rocket developed by his SpaceX company, according to The New York Times.

In 2001, space shuttles discovered water and evidence of rocks and minerals on the planet. We’ve got some more time left on the clock, but get your space gear ready to be walking (or floating) on Mars in 2030.

Read Obama’s full op-ed here.